Method for constructing an interactive digital catalog, and computer-readable storage medium and interactive digital catalog using the same

ABSTRACT

A method for constructing an interactive digital catalog, a computer-readable storage medium and an interactive digital catalog using the method are provided. The method includes the following steps. Firstly, the interactive digital catalog including at least one page is provided. Then, the at least one operable unified matter is presented and/or managed by laying out the at least one operable unified matter on the at least one page according to a predefined rule. The computer-readable storage medium has a computing program for executing the above method. The interactive digital catalog is constructed by the above method.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method for constructing aninteractive digital catalog, and more particularly to a method forconstructing an interactive digital catalog and a computer-readablestorage medium and an interactive digital catalog using the method.

BACKGROUND

The basic purpose of a catalog is to organize the combination ofproducts, services or data of interest to individuals or groups asexplicit and abstract information in a standardized format. Generally,catalogs can be delivered in many forms. For example, catalogs can beprinted in a paper medium or displayed on a display screen or a computermonitor. Catalogs are usually structured lists or itemized displays oftitles, course offerings or articles. Moreover, catalogs often includedescriptive information or graphic presentation associated with thelisted items so as to be used for exhibition or sale. Catalogs in theirtraditional forms include mail order catalogs, retail catalogs, discountcatalogs, supplier catalogs, service catalogs, bulletins, flyers,posters, etc. Catalogs in their more modern forms can increase theinformation of products from a single data field to the content ofseveral hundred pages. Alternatively, catalogs in their more modernforms can present the key features of articles or selling information toconsumers in a direct or subliminal manner through televisions orcommercial radios so as to facilitate accumulating the buyers.

As known, the cost of producing print advertisements is very high. Fordelivering information, the retailer or vendor has to invest a lot ofmoney in design, production, publication and distribution to provide theconsumer with catalogs, brochures, magazines, flyers, billboards. Inaddition to the above cost invested by the retailer or vendor, thefreight cost is possibly transferred to the consumers. Under thiscircumstance, the conflict between the retailer or vendor and theconsumer occur.

The advent of the internet has created new medium information forproviding digital catalogs such as web banners, e-mail offerings, searchengines, electronic handbooks, electronic catalogs or onlineperiodicals. Catalogs can also be thought of as any informationservices. For example, in the media publishing industry, catalogsinclude magazines and books. Other examples of catalogs include movies,television shows, documentaries, music, radio programs and any otherentertainment products. The purposes of the above entertainment productsare consistent with the purposes of catalogs. That is, catalogs are usedto organize key data about products, services or information in astructured manner in order to help or facilitate the users to implementcommerce transactions or acquire requisite information.

Nowadays, many people use or browse some kinds of catalogs on a dailybasis because the human mind is subliminally and constantly cataloging.Through the internet, the catalog has been transformed from a largelyprinted medium to a digital one, allowing users to access the catalogedinformation whenever or wherever the users have an internet connection.Moreover, it is more efficient to edit the catalogs of products andservices through the internet. That is, the internet provides a means ofcoordinating the interaction between the vendor or provider and the userin order to facilitate the personalized commercial transactions. Whencompared with the interactive environment between the conventionalretail stores, the use of the internet can significantly reduce the timeand effort required for selection and purchase. The combination ofdigital publishing and the internet will accelerate the process ofmaking policy, or even cause an unpredictable dynamic change on thebuying models or habits of the consumers. Consequently, the combinationof digital publishing and the internet combination of digital publishingand the internet is more outstanding to the industry supply chain.

The digital publishing purpose can be achieved through websites andelectronic mails. Consequently, the sales catalogs in e-commerce becomevery popular, and many vendors have significant success through theinternet. In other words, the method of editing catalogs is largelybroadened with the development of computing technologies. Consequently,the online catalogs play very important role in e-commerce.

Moreover, the vast amount of information available on the websitesoverloads the consumer, and this reflects the inherent problem ofinformation broadcasting. Due to the limitations of the currenttechnology, the user cannot efficiently achieve a large amount of usefulinformation through the website. Consequently, an effective catalog hasto be transferred to proper or specific users (i.e., the usersinterested in the associated information of products or services).Moreover, the effective catalog must have the function of personalizedinteraction. That is, the effective catalog must be simple andcustomized to suit the needs of the users effectively. Consequently, itis an important issue to allow the printed information to comply withthe catalog format and allow the catalog to be placed in a properlocation and suitably used through network services.

Most catalog descriptions consist of the common attributes of theproduct, material or service. This is adequate for speed searching, butis not guaranteed to make a match. Moreover, due to the serve limitationof product differences, the supplier cannot show why its product is theright fit or the best buy. In addition, catalog data are oftenhomogenized into the database to fit a limited format. For avoiding therestrictions, a highly dynamic, personalized and user-orientedcataloging system is needed. Consequently, the features of the productscan be efficiently highlighted to meet the taste and lifestyles ofdifferent users.

Moreover, since the conventional search engine is usually not verypowerful, the conventional search engine cannot efficiently search outthe scattered information from different information sources through thenetworks. If the scattered information can be effectively searched outand classified and a highly-expandable automated solution is provided,it is helpful to create an electronic digital catalog with plural datafrom different information sources.

Although paper-based publications and broadcast media are stillprevalent, more and more consumers access newspapers, magazines, andtelevisions through their computers or networks. Moreover, the internethas revolutionized the publishing industry because the deliveringinformation via the internet represents a significant leap in efficiencyover the conventional distribution methods. However, since onlineinformation is not consistently or effectively packaged, the uncertaintyin information format and classification occurs. Therefore, it isimportant for the user to use a consistent and convenient method toacquire the required information.

Web services are interoperable web-based software services that can besubscribed to users on a payment or free-use basis. The term“interoperability” means that a user of a user terminal can operate aweb service to access another web service. Through the web service,plural application programs or systematic structures from any platformscan be combined together to provide entire services to consumers orusers.

If the catalog is very large and has many options, it is time-consumingfor the users to browse the entire of the catalog. Regardless of whatthe information format of the catalog is, the catalog is not fullyutilized. Moreover, the catalog contains a large amount of free floatinginformation. If the information is properly captured and utilized, thetransactions between vendors and consumers become smarter and moreflexible.

Some eBook companies such as Kotobee Publisher provide authoringsoftware for allowing users to create multi-platform interactiveelectronic books that are enriched with useful tools. Moreover, thecreated electronic books can run on multiple platforms. For example, thecreated electronic books can be exported as a native application programto the Android or iOS system, or converted into a web applicationprogram or a desktop application program. Moreover, the content of theelectronic book can be designed from Scratch or imported from a PDFfile. As the content of the electronic book is increased, the electronicbook can be equipped with multipurpose tools that allow the applicationprograms of the electronic book to be the true research tools. Forexample, the reading user can visually takes notes and store them in adatabase. However, these electronic books can only be formatted as theformat of the Android or iOS system. In other words, these electronicbooks cannot meet the requirements of cross-platforms.

A Scratch interactive program is a multimedia authoring tool for a rangeof educational and entertainment constructivist purposes from math orscience projects. Through the Scratch interactive program, students,scholars, teachers or parents can present recording lectures withanimated presentations, make simulations and visualizations ofexperiments, and present animated stories of social sciences,interactive art and music. Moreover, simple games can be made with theScratch interactive program. The user can view the existing projectsavailable on the Scratch website or modify and test the projects withoutonline registration. Moreover, Scratch allows users to use event-drivenprogramming with multiple active objects. These objects can be drawn aseither vectors or bitmap graphics through a simple editor that is partof the Scratch, or these objects can be imported from external sourcesincluding webcams. However, the Scratch interactive program also needsto face the cross-platform requirements.

Moreover, according to the current technology of a digital catalog, theelectronic book is a representative catalog product of the digitalcatalog. However, the digital catalog lacks interactivity. Since thecontent of the digital catalog is not operable, there is no interactionbetween the digital catalog and the observer. Moreover, the sources ofthe digital catalog cannot be self-expanded. On the other hand, sincethe types or forms of the digital catalogs are set by vendors, thecontents of the conventional digital catalogs are passively accepted bypeople or users and allowed to be adjusted with limitations andrestriction

Although the multimedia product edited in the Scratch interactiveprogram maybe have interactivity and operability, the contents are notunified. Since the associated contents and tools of the Scratchinteractive program are provided by vendors, the content sources of theScratch interactive program cannot be self-expanded. Moreover, the webpage is suitable for producing the digital catalog.

From the above discussions, the conventional interactive digital catalogand the conventional method for constructing the interactive digitalcatalog need to be further improved.

SUMMARY

An object of the prevent invention provides a method for constructing aninteractive digital catalog and a computer-readable storage medium andan interactive digital catalog using the method. The interactive digitalcatalog provides high flexibility of allowing the users to acquire andlay out the required unified matter on the interactive digital catalogwithout limitations or restrictions. Moreover, since the sources of theunified matters are continuously expandable, the use of the interactivedigital catalog can implement specified tasks. Moreover, the user canshare or publish the interactive digital catalog to other users orsocial websites in a wired or wireless transmission manner.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for constructing an interactive digital catalog to presentand/or manage at least one operable unified matter. The method includesthe following steps. Firstly, the interactive digital catalog iscreated, wherein the interactive digital catalog includes at least onepage. Then, the at least one operable unified matter is presented and/ormanaged by laying out the at least one operable unified matter on the atleast one page according to a predefined rule.

In an embodiment, the at least one operable unified matter includes atleast one unified information unit and/or at least one unified tool.

In an embodiment, the at least one unified information unit is producedby unifying the at least one original information obtained from at leastone information source is unified, and/or the at least one unified toolis produced by unifying the at least one original tool obtained from atleast one information source is unified.

In an embodiment, the at least one unified tool is used for presentingdynamic information, collecting information, manipulating the at leastone unified information unit and/or proceeding transactions.

In an embodiment, a unified matter source of the at least one operableunified matter is expandable.

In an embodiment, the at least one operable unified matter is presentedwith an icon, a text, an input term or any combination thereof.

In an embodiment, the input term is a single input item, a multipleinput item, a text input term or an event input term.

In an embodiment, the interactive digital catalog is presented with theappearance of a book, and the at least one page includes at least onecover page, at least one index page and/or at least one content page.

In an embodiment, the at least one index page has at least one bookmark,wherein the at least one content page is opened through the at least onebookmark.

In an embodiment, the at least one content page is grouped into at leastone section.

In an embodiment, the at least one index page has at least one bookmark,wherein the at least one section is opened through the at least onebookmark.

In an embodiment, the at least one cover page, the at least one indexpage and the at least one content page of the interactive digitalcatalog are sequentially arranged in order.

In an embodiment, the at least one index page contains the at least onecover page.

In an embodiment, the interactive digital catalog is presented in athree-dimensional space so as to be browsed.

In an embodiment, the at least one page comprises plural pages, whereinthe plural pages are arranged along a Z-axis direction and partiallyoverlapped with each other.

In an embodiment, the predefined rule is used to scale the at least oneoperable unified matter, move the at least one operable unified matterand/or apply a template to the at least one operable unified matter soas to change layout.

In an embodiment, the method further includes steps of providing acatalog launcher to launch the interactive digital catalog, andproviding at least one application programming interface to theinteractive digital catalog. The application programming interfaceallows a first one of the at least one operable unified matter to manageand/or operate a second one of the at least one operable unified matter,or allows the first one and the second one of the at least one operableunified matter to cooperate with each other.

In an embodiment, when the at least one operable unified matter isoperated, at least one executable component connected with the at leastone operable unified matter is inserted into the interactive digitalcatalog through the catalog launcher, so that a specified task isperformed.

In an embodiment, the at least one executable component is built in orplugged in the interactive digital catalog.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a computer-readable storage medium for constructing aninteractive digital catalog to present and/or manage at least oneoperable unified matter. The computer-readable storage medium includes acomputing program. While the computing program is executed, thecomputing program performs the following steps. Firstly, the interactivedigital catalog is created, wherein the interactive digital catalogincludes at least one page. Then, the at least one operable unifiedmatter is presented and/or managed by laying out the at least oneoperable unified matter on the at least one page according to apredefined rule.

In an embodiment, while the computing program is executed, the computingprogram further performs steps of providing a catalog launcher to launchthe interactive digital catalog and providing at least one applicationprogramming interface to the interactive digital catalog. Theapplication programming interface allows a first one of the at least oneoperable unified matter to manage and/or operate a second one of the atleast one operable unified matter, or allows the first one and thesecond one of the at least one operable unified matter to cooperate witheach other.

In an embodiment, when the at least one operable unified matter isoperated, at least one executable component connected with the at leastone operable unified matter is inserted into the interactive digitalcatalog through the catalog launcher, so that a specified task isperformed.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an interactive digital catalog. The interactive digital catalogincludes at least one page. The at least one page contains at least oneoperable unified matter. The at least one operable unified matter islaid out on the at least one page according to a predefined rule.

In an embodiment, the at least one operable unified matter includes atleast one unified information unit and/or at least one unified tool.

In an embodiment, the at least one unified information unit is producedby unifying at least one original information obtained from at least oneinformation source is unified, and/or the at least one unified tool isproduced by unifying at least one original tool obtained from at leastone information source is unified.

In an embodiment, the interactive digital catalog is presented with theappearance of a book, and the at least one page includes at least onecover page, at least one index page and/or at least one content page.

In an embodiment, the predefined rule is used to scale the at least oneoperable unified matter, move the at least one operable unified matterand/or apply a template to the at least one operable unified matter soas to change layout.

The above objects and advantages of the present invention will becomemore readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art afterreviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings,in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofa unifying method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofusing the unified script as an intermediate language for implementingthe personal workspace;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a preferred configuration ofa personal workspace;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an initial state of themethod of projecting the workspace according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams illustrating operating conceptsof the method of projecting the workspace as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between aprojectable space instance as shown in FIG. 4 and a projected workspaceas shown in FIG. 5B;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for constructing aninteractive digital catalog according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for generating an operableunified matter according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofproviding information importers to the interactive digital catalog inthe step S210 of FIG. 8 via a unified script;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofallowing the unified tool corresponding to the original tool to beprovided to (e.g., built in or plugged in) the interactive digitalcatalog in the step S220 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the source of the operableunified matter of the interactive digital catalog according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofpresenting and/or managing the operable unified matter in theinteractive digital catalog according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofaccessing or controlling the operable unified matter in the interactivedigital catalog according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for establishing the pageconnection of an interactive digital catalog according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofestablishing the connection rule between the pages in the step S830 ofFIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofpresenting the interactive digital catalog of FIG. 15 in athree-dimensional space according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofediting and laying out the operable unified matters on the interactivedigital catalog in the step S820 of FIG. 14;

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofediting a shopping page on the interactive digital catalog by the methodof FIG. 14;

FIG. 19A is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation conceptof using the interactive digital catalog to publish news and collectopinion feedbacks according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19B is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation conceptof presenting the interactive digital catalog of FIG. 19A in athree-dimensional space;

FIG. 19C is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation conceptof placing the interactive digital catalog of FIG. 19A in a workspace;and

FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a computer-readablestorage medium according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is more fully appreciated by reference to thefollowing description, including the following glossary of terms and theconcluding examples. For the sake of brevity, the disclosures of thepublications, including patents, cited in this specification are hereinincorporated by reference.

The examples below are non-limiting and are merely representative ofvarious aspects and features of the present invention. The term“information source” used herein is defined as a sequence of symbolsthat can be interpreted as a message in the most limited technicalmeaning. And the message is used for organizing and labelinginformation. For example, the information source includes website (suchas internet service), intranet, social network, software, electronicbook, database and other media of information (such as storage media ofnon-transitory computer or storage media of mobile device). The term“original information” used herein is a file, a web page, a databaserow, a policy, a rule or any data accessible in a corresponding machineand server, but is not limited thereto. The term “original tool” usedherein is a utility, a widget, an intelligent agent, an application, aservice or any executable component accessible in a correspondingmachine and server, but is not limited thereto. It is noted that theinformation sources, the original information and the original tool arenot restricted to the above examples.

Moreover, “original information” and “original tool” are implementationexamples of “original matters” used herein. In accordance with thepresent invention, a plurality of “original matters” from identical ordifferent “information sources” are modeled to a plurality of “unifiedmatters” by a unifying method. Consequently, the “unified matters” inthe same execution environment are compatible with each other andcooperate to perform a specified task. The “unified tool” and the“unified information unit” are implementation examples of the “unifiedmatters”. Moreover, the term “Matterizer” used herein is a means, adevice or a program code to perform the unifying process.

In an embodiment, the above unifying method comprises steps of: modelingat least one original information obtained from at least one informationsource of multiple information sources into a unified information unitwith one unified data model via re-organizing the original information,and/or modeling at least one original tool obtained from at least oneinformation source of multiple information sources into a unified toolwith another unified data model via re-organizing the original tool. Theone unified data model and another unified data model could be identicalor different, and the unifying method described above could be completedthrough a matterizer.

Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating animplementation concept of a unifying method according to an embodiment.As shown in FIG. 1, the matterizer 992 re-organizes an attribute and alink of an original matter 991 with a unified data model 993, and thusmodels the original matter 991 into a unified matter 994. Consequently,the basic attribute of the unified matter 994 include a type of theoriginal matter 994 and a link indicating where the original matter 994is located.

In this embodiment, the original matter 991 at least includes anoriginal information (not shown) or an original tool (not shown), but isnot limited thereto. In the above unifying method, if the attributeaccessible from the original information corresponds to the attribute tobe unified in the unified information unit, the unified information unitis directly produced through the matterizer 992. If the attributeaccessible from the original information does not correspond to theattribute to be unified in the unified information unit, the originalinformation is firstly re-defined by logically re-organizing theattributes and the link of the original information, and then theoriginal information is converted into a new original information withthe attributes which correspond to attributes to be unified in theunified information unit. Consequently, the unified information unit isindirectly produced.

Moreover, if the original tool is compatible with the workingenvironment of the workspace, the unified tool is directly produced bythe matterizer 992. On the other hand, if the original tool isincompatible with the working environment of the workspace, the unifiedtool is indirectly produced via an adapter and/or a software developmentkit (SDK) of the original tool to drive the original tool. The adapterprovides an interface implementation compatible with the workingenvironment.

Herein, “the descriptions of the unifying method”, “the methods ofobtaining the unified matters” and “the descriptions of the matterizer”may be referred to the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/324,069,entitled “A method of unifying information and tool from a plurality ofinformation sources”, and also referred to the China Patent ApplicationNo. 201410768564.X, entitled “A method of unifying information and toolfrom a plurality of information sources and computer product and deviceusing the method”. The detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

The above unifying method is presented herein for purpose ofillustration and description only. The method of unifying a plurality oforiginal matters from different information sources is not restricted.However, those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations may be made while retaining the teachingsof the invention.

Hereinafter, two other unifying methods will be illustrated. The firstunifying method is applied to a method of unifying the information ofGarmin satellite navigation. Through a point-of-interest (POI) functionof the Garmin satellite navigation, the method of unifying theinformation is employed to unify the imported original point information(i.e., an original information) into the corresponding unified pointinformation (i.e., a unified information unit). The second unifyingmethod is applied to a method of unifying the tool of an Android system.The Android system is a Linux-based open source mobile operating system.However, most application programs (i.e., original tools) are written inthe Java programming language. Consequently, the application program(i.e., the original tool) written in the Java programming language canbe modelled into a unified application program (i.e., the unified tool)compatible with the Android system so as to be executed in the Androidsystem.

The term “workspace” used herein is a working environment for providinginteractions between the at least one matterizer, the at least one tooland/or the at least one information so as to implement a specified task.Moreover, the at least one tool and/or at least one information can beimported into the workspace through the at least one matterizer.However, the way of importing the information and/or tool into theworkspace is not restricted. Hereinafter, information importers such asthe information importers 9881, 9882 and 9883 of FIG. 2, the Dropboximporter 9761′ of FIG. 6, the information importers 320 and 360 of FIG.9 and the information importers 420 and 451 of FIG. 10 are some examplesof the matterizer. The term “unified script” used herein is anintermediate language to implement the workspace. Moreover, via the“unified script”, the at least one matterizer, the at least one tooland/or the at least one information can be provided to the workspace(e.g., built in or plugged in the workspace).

In an embodiment, the above at least one information is a unifiedinformation unit which is produced by unifying the at least one originalinformation obtained from at least one information source is unified,and the above at least one tool is a unified tool which is produced byunifying the at least one original tool obtained from at least oneinformation source is unified. Moreover, according to different tasks,the required unified information unit and/or the required unified toolfrom the corresponding information source can be added to the personalworkspace (e.g., built in or plugged in the personal workspace). Inother words, the “workspace” is a user-orientated “personal workspace”.

Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagramillustrating an implementation concept of using the unified script as anintermediate language for implementing the personal workspace. FIG. 3 isa schematic diagram illustrating a preferred configuration of a personalworkspace. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a unified information unit985′ corresponding to an original information 985 in Dropbox 982, afirst unified tool 986′ corresponding to a compatible original tool 986in a cloud storage 983 and a second unified tool 987′ corresponding toan incompatible original tool 987 in a server 984 are combined togetherinto a personal workspace 981 according to the required tasks. Inparticular, a unified script 980 as an intermediate language forimplementing the personal workspace 981 is firstly compiled, and then aninformation importer 9881 of the Dropbox 982, an information importer9882 of the cloud storage 983 and an information importer 9883 of theserver 984 are configured through the unified script 980. Moreover,after the original information 985 in the Dropbox 982 is unified intothe unified information unit 985′ by the information importer 9881, theunified information unit 985′ is imported into the personal workspace981.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the original tool stored in the cloudstorage 983 is the compatible original tool 986, which is compatiblewith the component architecture of the unified tool in the personalworkspace 981. Moreover, the first unified tool 986′ corresponding tothe compatible original tool 986 is directly provided to the personalworkspace 981 through the information importer 9882 of the unifiedscript 980.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the original tool stored in the server984 is the incompatible original tool 987, which is incompatible withthe component architecture of the unified tool in the personal workspace981. Moreover, the second unified tool 987′ corresponding to theincompatible original tool 987 is provided to the personal workspace 981through the compatible adapter 989 and the information importer 9883 ofthe unified script 980.

As shown in FIG. 3, the user can configure and arrange (e.g., group orplace) the unified information unit 985′, the first unified tool 986′and the second unified tool 987′ in a specific area of the personalworkspace 981 according to the practical requirements. Moreover,according to the operational relationship between the unified tool andthe unified information unit (e.g., the clicking or dragging actionsbetween the two), the user can perform specified tasks by using theunified tool to access or control the corresponding unified informationunit.

Herein, “the descriptions of using the unified script as theintermediate language for implementing the personal workspace” and “thedescriptions of allowing the required unified information unit and/orthe required unified tool from the corresponding information sources tobe arbitrarily combined together into the personal workspace accordingto the practical requirements” may be referred to the U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/325,466, entitled “Method for performing task onunified information units in a personal workspace”, and also referred tothe China Patent Application No. 201410796528.4, entitled “A method ofcombining unified matters in a personal workspace and computer productand device using the method”. The detailed descriptions thereof areomitted.

The above personal workspace is presented herein for purpose ofillustration and description only. It is noted that the workspace usedin the present invention is not restricted. For example, the unifiedscript as the intermediate language for implementing the workspace canbe previously edited. Consequently, the workspace equips the defaultmatterizer, the default information and/or the default tool. Thisworkspace is not limited to be operated by a single user. According tothe practical requirements, this workspace can be operated by multipleusers at the same time or at different times.

Moreover, the “workspace” used herein is obtained by “a method ofprojecting a workspace” to any electronic device with computationalcapability. An example of the electronic device includes but is notlimited to a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer or adesktop computer. Consequently, the “projected workspace” can beoperated by any user through any electronic device with computationalcapability.

In an embodiment, the method of projecting the workspace comprises thefollowing steps. Firstly, a projectable space instance instantiated bythe unified script is obtained through a uniform resource identifier(URI). As mentioned above, the unified script is defined to configure atleast one of the matterizer, the information and the tool to model theworkspace. Moreover, the projectable space instance is used to build theprojected workspace corresponding to the workspace, and thus provide aninterface for operating at least one of the matterizer, the informationand the tool to implement a task. Then, a projector parses theprojectable space instance and build a working environment to configureat least one of the matterizer, the information and the tool so as toexecute the projected workspace for providing interactions between atleast one user and the projected workspace.

The projector is acquired from a remote data station, the projectablespace instance or a preloaded application program, and loaded into anengine for providing a compatible environment to execute the projector.An example of the engine includes but is not limited to a Javascriptengine (e.g., a browser), a Windows application or a Linux application.Preferably but not exclusively, the unified script can be declared by adocument type definition (DTD), an extensible markup language (XML)Schema, a structured language or a structured protocol. Preferably butnot exclusively, the projectable space instance is an object, anextensible markup language (XML) document, or an instance instantiatedwith a structured language or a structured protocol.

Please refer to FIG. 4, FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B and FIG. 6. FIG. 4 is aschematic diagram illustrating an initial state of the method ofprojecting the workspace according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams illustrating operatingconcepts of the method of projecting the workspace as shown in FIG. 4.FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between aprojectable space instance as shown in FIG. 4 and a projected workspaceas shown in FIG. 5B.

In the initial state of FIG. 4, a first electronic device 971 and asecond electronic device 972 are in communication with each other (e.g.,through network connection). Moreover, the first electronic device 971stores a projectable space instance 973, and the second electronicdevice 972 has a built-in projector 974.

In this embodiment, the unified script 9731 is declared by a documenttype definition (DTD) and defined to configure at least one informationimporter (i.e., an example of the matterizer), at least one unifiedinformation unit and/or at least one unified tool to model a workspace,and the projectable space instance 973 is an instance instantiated withthe extensible markup language (XML). As shown in FIG. 6, theprojectable space instance 973 is used for building a projectedworkspace 976 corresponding to the workspace. Moreover, the informationimporter, the unified information and/or the unified tool is allowed tobe added to or removed from the projectable space instance 973.

The projector 974 of the second electronic device 972 will build aworking environment 975 in the second electronic device 972 forexecuting the projected workspace 976. In addition, the projector 974provides a microkernel 977 (see FIG. 6) to the working environment 975for equipping at least one information importer, at least one unifiedinformation and/or at least one unified tool that will be added to theprojected workspace 976. When the second electronic device 972 acquiresthe projectable space instance 973 from the first electronic device 971through a URI, the projector 974 of the second electronic device 972starts to parse the projectable space instance 973 (see FIG. 5A). Afterthe projectable space instance 973 is parsed by the projector 974, theprojected workspace 976 is built in the working environment 975according to parsed contents of the projectable space instance 973 (seeFIG. 5B). Accordingly, a user of the second electronic device 972 caninteract with the projected workspace 976 through the second electronicdevice 972 so as to perform related tasks.

The relationships between the unified script 9731, the projectable spaceinstance 973 and the projected workspace 976 will be illustrated in moredetailed through a usage situation as shown in FIG. 6. The usagesituation as shown in FIG. 6 is related to a process of building aprojected workspace that is capable of accessing jpg format image filesand gif format image files from a specified internet space and allowingthe image files to be viewed by a user. In this usage situation, theunified script 9731 is declared by the Document Type Definition (DTD),and the projectable space instance 973 is instantiated with XML.

Moreover, an information importer and a unified tool are added into theprojectable space instance 973, and at least one unified informationunit corresponding to the original information is imported into theprojected workspace 976 through the information importer. In this usagesituation, the information importer is a Dropbox importer. Theinformation of the Dropbox importer is disclosed in the dashed lineframe 9761 of FIG. 6. The original information includes a jpg formatimage file 9791, a jpg format image file 9792 and a gif format imagefile 9793 in Dropbox 979 (i.e., an information source). The unifiedinformation units includes a unified jpg format image file 9791′, aunified jpg format image file 9792′ and a unified gif format image file9793′, which will be described later. The unified tool is an imageviewer for accessing image files which are imported into the projectedworkspace 976. The information of the image viewer is disclosed in thedashed line frame 9762 of FIG. 6.

As mentioned above, the projected workspace 976 is built after theprojectable space instance 973 is parsed by the projector 974 of thesecond electronic device 972. In this embodiment, the Dropbox importer9761′ corresponding to the dashed line frame 9761 and the image viewer9762′ corresponding to the dashed line frame 9762 are configured in theprojected workspace 976. Moreover, the jpg format image file 9791, thejpg format image file 9792 and the gif format image file 9793 in Dropbox979 are unified and imported into the projected workspace 976 by theDropbox importer 9761′. Consequently, the unified jpg format image file9791′ corresponding to the jpg format image file 9791, the unified jpgformat image file 9792′ corresponding to the jpg format image file 9792and the unified gif format image file 9793′ corresponding to the gifformat image file 9793 are displayed on the projected workspace 976.When the user of the second electronic device 972 manipulates any of theunified image files 9791′, 9792′ and 9793′ by any specified operatingmeans (such as an action of clicking any of the unified images files9791′, 9792′ and 9793′ or an action of dragging and dropping any of theimage files 9791′, 9792′ and 9793′ to the image viewer 9762′), the imageviewer 9762′ will access the contents of the corresponding unified imagefiles 9791′, 9792′ or 9793′ to allow the unified image files 9791′,9792′ or 9793′ to be viewed by the user. Moreover, the Dropbox importer9761′ and the image viewer 9762′ mentioned above are equipped by themicrokernel 977.

It is noted that the URI of the projectable space instance 973 may be aHTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) URI or a FTP (file transfer protocol)URI. In case that the first electronic device 971 and the secondelectronic device 972 are integrated into one device, the URI of theprojectable space instance 973 can also be a local file URI. However,the types of the URI of the projectable space instance 973 are notrestricted.

Herein, “the descriptions of the method of projecting the workspace” maybe referred to the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/577,772, entitled“Method of projecting a workspace and system using the same”, and alsoreferred to the China Patent Application No. 201410814138.5, entitled“Method of projecting a workspace and system using the same”. Thedetailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

The above method of projecting the workspace to any electronic devicewith computational capability is presented herein for purpose ofillustration and description only. The method of projecting theworkspace to any electronic device with computational capability is notrestricted. However, those skilled in the art will readily observe thatnumerous modifications and alterations may be made while retaining theteachings of the invention.

A method for constructing an interactive digital catalog to present andmanage operable unified matters will be illustrated as follows. Theinteractive digital catalog is an implementation example of the above“workspace” or “personal workspace”. Moreover, the method forconstructing the interactive digital catalog and a computer-readablestorage medium and an interactive digital catalog using the method canhave other implementation examples. It is to be noted that the followingdescriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presentedherein for purpose of illustration and description only. The examplesbelow are non-limiting and are merely representative of various aspectsand features of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for constructing aninteractive digital catalog according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. The method for constructing the interactive digital catalogis used to present and/or manage at least one operable unified matter.The method for constructing the interactive digital catalog comprisesthe following steps. Firstly, an interactive digital catalog is created,wherein the interactive digital catalog includes at least one page iscreated (Step S110). Then, the at least one operable unified matter ispresented and/or managed by laying out the at least one operable unifiedmatter on the at least one page according to a predefined rule (StepS120).

In an embodiment, the at least one operable unified matter includes atleast one unified information unit, at least one unified tool, or acombination thereof. The unified information unit is produced byunifying the at least one original information obtained from at leastone information source is unified by an operable unified matterprocessing system, and the unified tool is produced by unifying the atleast one original tool obtained from at least one information source isunified by the operable unified matter processing system.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for generating an operableunified matter according to an embodiment of the present invention. Themethod for generating the operable unified matter comprises thefollowing steps. Firstly, at least one information importer is providedto an interactive digital catalog (Step S210). Then, at least oneoriginal information and/or at least one original tool are acquired fromat least one information source of plural information sources via the atleast one information importer, the at least one original informationand/or the at least one original tool are unified into at least oneunified information unit and/or at least one unified tool, and the atleast one unified information unit and/or the at least one unified toolare provided to the interactive digital catalog (Step S220).

First of all, a unified script as an intermediate language for realizingthe present invention is edited. The information importers withconverting functions of different formations are allowed to be providedto (e.g., built in or plugged in) the unified script. The convertingfunction can convert the original information from different informationsources into the unified information units and convert the originaltools from different information sources into the unified tools.Preferably but not exclusively, the united script is declared by adocument type definition (DTD), an extensible markup language (XML)Schema, a structured language or a structured protocol. The informationimporter can be implemented as Java Bean, COM, or any kind of pluggablecomponent architecture.

That is, by the method of the present invention, the unified informationunits and/or the unified tools from identical or different informationsources can be collected to the interactive digital catalog.Consequently, the user can use the interactive digital catalog toimplement different tasks.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofproviding information importers to the interactive digital catalog inthe step S210 of FIG. 8 via a unified script. As shown in FIG. 9, theunified script 330 is used as an intermediate language in theinteractive digital catalog 340. Moreover, the information importer 320of Dropbox 310 and the information importer 360 of Google Drive 350 areconfigurable through the unified script 330. After a unifying process,the information importer 320 of Dropbox 310 and the information importer360 of Google Drive 350 are allowed to enter together into the sameinteractive digital catalog 340.

As shown in FIG. 9, the information source of the interactive digitalcatalog 340 is Dropbox 310, and the information importer 320 of Dropbox310 is a software component capable of unifying the information ofDropbox 310 into the unified information unit. The information importer320 of Dropbox 310 is configurable through the unified script 330, andmay be one of source providers for the interactive digital catalog 340.

Moreover, another information source of the interactive digital catalog340 is Google Drive 350, and the information importer 360 of GoogleDrive 350 is a software component capable of unifying the information ofGoogle Drive 350 into the unified information unit. Similarly, theinformation importer 360 of Google Drive 350 is configurable through theunified script 330, and may be one of source providers for theinteractive digital catalog 340.

Moreover, plural unified tools corresponding to plural original toolscan be collected to the interactive digital catalog according todifferent tasks. The original tools are classified into compatible toolsand incompatible tools. If the original tool is the compatible tool, theoriginal tool acquired from the at least one information source isdirectly provided to (e.g., built in or plugged in) the interactivedigital catalog via the unified script. Whereas, if the original tool isthe incompatible tool, the original tool acquired from the at least oneinformation source is indirectly provided to (e.g., built in or pluggedin) the interactive digital catalog via a compatible adapter and theunified script. Moreover, both of the compatible tool and the compatibleadapter are regarded as unified tools.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofallowing the unified tool corresponding to the original tool to beprovided to (e.g., built in or plugged in) the interactive digitalcatalog in the step S220 of FIG. 8. First of all, the condition that theoriginal tool is the compatible tool will be described. As shown in FIG.10, one original tool is a compatible tool 410 in an information source(e.g., an information importer provided by the supplier). Since thecomponent interface of the compatible tool 410 is compatible with thecomponent architecture for the unified tool in an interactive digitalcatalog 440, it is presumed that the compatible tool 410 is a compatibleunified tool and the compatible tool 410 is able to be directly providedto (e.g., built in or plugged in) the interactive digital catalog 440via a unified script 430 (i.e., through an information importer 420therein). Consequently, the specified functions of the compatible tool410 can be implemented.

Next, the condition that the original tool is the incompatible tool willbe described. As shown in FIG. 10, another original tool is a MicrosoftWord tool 450 in another information source. Since the componentinterface of the Microsoft Word tool 450 is incompatible with thecomponent architecture for the unified tool in the interactive digitalcatalog 440, an adapter 452 compatible with the component architecturefor the unified tool in the interactive digital catalog 440 is required.Then, the incompatible Microsoft Word tool 450 is able to be provided to(e.g., built in or plugged in) the interactive digital catalog 440 viathe unified script 430 (i.e., through the compatible adapter 452 and/oran information importer 451 therein). Consequently, the specifiedfunctions of the Microsoft Word tool 450 can be implemented. Asmentioned in FIG. 10, both of the compatible tool and the incompatibletool can be unified into the same interactive digital catalog 440 inorder to perform a specified task.

As mentioned above, the compatible tool and the incompatible tool areallowed to enter together into the same interactive digital catalogafter the unifying process. Consequently, the interactive digitalcatalog is equipped with plural unified tools. Moreover, the functionalfeature provided by each unified tool can display or interpret aspecified unified information unit. That is, after the at least oneoriginal tool is unified into the unified tool via the unified script, atask can be accomplished by using at least one unified tool to processthe corresponding unified information unit.

Moreover, different unified tools can have different functions.Preferably but not exclusively, the unified tool is used for presentingdynamic information, collecting information, manipulating the at leastone unified information unit and/or proceeding transactions. Moreover,the operable unified matter is presented with an icon, a text, an inputterm (a single input item, a multiple input item, a text input term oran event input term), or any combination thereof. For example, in casethat the unified tool is a questionnaire tool, the questionnaireinterface may have the following configuration. For example, the answerfor each question of the questionnaire is a single input item or amultiple input item, the opinion section of the questionnaire is a textinput term, and the online submission of the questionnaire is an eventinput term. That is, after the event input term is accessed, thefunction of the online submission can be implemented by a computingprogram or a browser.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the source of the operableunified matter of the interactive digital catalog according to anembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, a unifiedmatter source registry 510 (e.g., a web server) comprises an operableunified matter processing system 511 for unifying the originalinformation and/or the original tool that are received by the unifiedmatter source registry 510. Moreover, vendors such as eBay 520 andGoogle 530 can develop various tools or tool sets on the unified mattersource registry 510. That is, various tools or tool sets developed bymany vendors can be registered to the unified matter source registry510. In case that the tools or tool sets developed by the vendors havebeen previously unified into the unified tools or tool sets, the toolsor tool sets are considered as compatible tools or tool sets anddirectly registered to the unified matter source registry 510. In casethat the tools or tool sets developed by the vendors containincompatible tools or tool sets, the tools or tool sets developed by thevendors will be unified into unified tools or tool sets by the operableunified matter processing system 511 of the unified matter sourceregistry 510 via the unified script (not shown). In addition, theoriginal information stored in Dropbox 540 can be configured and unifiedinto unified information units by the operable unified matter processingsystem 511 and the unified script that are loaded in the unified mattersource registry 510.

Moreover, on web browser 550, an interactive digital catalog 570 havinga unified matter source tool 580 is launched by a catalog launcher 560.The catalog launcher 560 is an example of the above projector. Moreover,the unified matter source tool 580 is connected with the unified mattersource registry 510. The unified matter source tool 580 is able todownload the tools or tool sets of eBay 520, the tools or tool sets ofGoogle 530 or the unified information units of Dropbox 540 from theunified matter source registry 510. Consequently, the user can utilizethe tools or tool sets of eBay 520 or the tools or tool sets of Google530 or browse the unified information units of Dropbox 540 on the pagesof the interactive digital catalog 570 via the unified matter sourcetool 580 of the interactive digital catalog 570.

Consequently, if many vendors or developers develop and register variousunified tools or tool sets on the unified matter source registry 510,the operable unified matters that can be acquired by the unified mattersource tool 580 become diversified. Since the unified matter sources ofthe operable unified matters are continuously expanded, it is moreconvenient for the users to acquire various kinds of operable unifiedtools or tool sets from the unified matter source tool 580 of theinteractive digital catalog 570 in order to implement and accomplishvarious tasks.

The term “browser” used herein includes but is not limited to theapplication software that displays files in a web server or a filesystem and allows users to interact with the files. That is, the browsercan display texts, images and other information in the World Wide Web ora local area network. The texts, images and other information can behyperlinked to other websites, thereby enabling the users to browseinformation easily and quickly.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofpresenting and/or managing the operable unified matter in theinteractive digital catalog according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 12, a catalog launcher 610 under a webbrowser 600 launches an application programming interface (API) 620 andan interactive digital catalog 630. The interactive digital catalog 630contains a first operable unified matter 640, a second operable unifiedmatter 650 and a third operable unified matter 660. The first operableunified matter 640 and the second operable unified matter 650 areunified tools with specific functions. The specified function includesbut is not limited to statistics, drawing, word processing,investigation, trading or configuration.

During operation, opening the operable unified matters can launch thecorresponding original tools (i.e., executable component) to performspecific functions. For example, the first operable unified matter 640is a questionnaire file, and the second operable unified matter 650 is astatistical program. After the first operable unified matter 640 isopened by the user, a questionnaire filling-in tool is popped out andshown. The questionnaire filling-in tool is a first original tool 641corresponding to the first operable unified matter 640. Consequently,the user can input the questionnaire data. In addition, thequestionnaire data inputted by the user are written into a storage space670 of the web browser 600 through the API 620. Moreover, after thesecond operable unified matter 650 is opened by the user, a statisticstool is launched. The statistics tool is a second original tool 651corresponding to the second operable unified matter 650. The statisticstool can read the questionnaire data from the storage space 670 throughthe API 620 and analyze the questionnaire data. In other words, the usercan operate the first operable unified matter 640 and the secondoperable unified matter 650 to active the first original tool 641 andthe second original tool 651 so as to complete the task aboutquestionnaire survey and statistics.

Moreover, the API 620 of the catalog launcher 610 allows the operableunified matter to manage or operate other operable unified matters orcoordinate with other operable unified matters through an executablecomponent. That is, the API 620 enables plural operable unified mattersto interact with each other.

In an embodiment, the content of the operable unified matter onlycontains information or data (e.g., news content or data report). Forexample, the third operable unified matter 660 only contains informationor data. After the third operable unified matter 660 is opened by theuser, a viewer 661 corresponding to the third operable unified matter660 is launched for allowing the user to browse the information or dataof the third operable unified matter 660.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofaccessing or controlling the operable unified matter in the interactivedigital catalog according to an embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 13, the operable unified matters comprises a PDF file 720from Dropbox, a Word file 730 from Google Drive, a Google documentviewer 740 and an Adobe PDF reader 750. The PDF file 720 from Dropboxand the Word file 730 from Google Drive are both displayed in a page ofan interactive digital catalog 710.

In this embodiment, the Google document viewer 740 and the Adobe PDFreader 750 have been previously configured in the interactive digitalcatalog 710. After the PDF file 720 from Dropbox in the interactivedigital catalog 710 is clicked or opened by the user, the correspondingbrowsing tool (i.e., the Adobe PDF reader 750) is activated.Consequently, the content of the PDF file 72 can be browsed by the user.Similarly, after the Word file 730 from Google Drive is clicked oropened by the user, the corresponding browsing tool (i.e., the Googledocument viewer 740) is activated. Consequently, the content of the Wordfile 730 can be browsed by the user.

That is, the user can browse the page on the interactive digital catalogby a clipping action or a dragging action. For example, when the userdirectly clicks the Word file 730 from Google Drive, the interactivedigital catalog 710 searches and selects a suitable unified toolaccording to the attributes of the clicked document so to display thecontent of the clicked document. Under this circumstance, the Word file730 from Google Drive is opened by the Google document viewer 740 so asto be browsed by the user.

Moreover, the operational relationship between the unified tool and theunified information unit of the interactive digital catalog can beestablished by other means (e.g., the dragging action between the two).After the operational relationship between the unified tool and theunified information unit is established, the user can perform specifiedtasks by using the unified tool to access or control the correspondingunified information unit. For example, the dragging action forestablishing the operational relationship between the unified tool andthe unified information unit may have the following two settings. Inaccordance with a first setting, the unified information unit to beaccessed or controlled is dragged and dropped into the correspondingunified tool (with the accessing or controlling function), so that theunified information unit is accessible or controllable. In accordancewith a second setting, the unified tool for accessing or controlling theunified information unit is dragged and dropped into the unifiedinformation unit to be accessed or controlled, so that the unifiedinformation unit is accessible or controllable. Consequently, the usercan implement specified tasks more conveniently and efficiently. The wayof establishing the operational relationship between the unified tooland the unified information unit is presented herein for purpose ofillustration and description only.

Consequently, the unified information unit and the unified tool can becombined together in the interactive digital catalog according to thepractical requirements. In such way, the features and functions of thecombination of the unified information unit and the unified tool can beexecuted on the page of the interactive digital catalog.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for establishing the pageconnection of an interactive digital catalog according to an embodimentof the present invention. The method comprises the following steps.Firstly, an interactive digital catalog is created, wherein theinteractive digital catalog comprises a cover page, an index page and acontent page (Step S810). Then, operable unified matters are edited andlaid out on the cover page, the index page and the content page,respectively (Step S820). Then, a connection rule between the coverpage, the index page and the content page is established (Step S830).Afterwards, the interactive digital catalog is presented in athree-dimensional space with a Z-axis (Step S840).

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofestablishing the connection rule between the pages in the step S830 ofFIG. 14. As shown in FIG. 15, a cover page 810, an index page 820, afirst content page 831, a second content page 832, a third content page841 and a fourth content page 842 are firstly created and edited in theinteractive digital catalog 800. Then, the connection between the coverpage 810 and the index page 820 is established, and a function ofswitching the page between the cover page 810 and the index page 820 isalso provided.

Moreover, bookmarks can be created in the index page 820, and eachbookmark can be set to switch to a specified section or a specifiedcontent page. As shown in FIG. 15, the first content page 831 and thesecond content page 832 are grouped into a first section 830, and thethird content page 841 and the fourth content page 842 are grouped intoa second section 840. A first bookmark 851 and a second bookmark 852 arecreated in the index page 820. The first bookmark 851 is set to link andopen the first content page 831 of the first section 830. The secondbookmark 852 is set to link and open the third content page 841 of thesecond section 840.

Moreover, the connection between any two content pages of the firstcontent page 831, the second content page 832, the third content page841 and the fourth content page 842 can also be established.Consequently, one of the first content page 831, the second content page832, the third content page 841 and the fourth content page 842 can beswitched to another page. Optionally, a third bookmark 853 is created inany content page for allowing the content page to return to the indexpage. Consequently, after the page connection of the interactive digitalcatalog is established, the user can browse all pages of the interactivedigital catalog in a manner of flipping books. It is noted that numerousmodifications and alterations may be made while retaining the teachingsof the invention. For example, in another embodiment, the interactivedigital catalog 800 does not contain the cover page 810, and the indexpage 820 is directly used as the cover.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofpresenting the interactive digital catalog of FIG. 15 in athree-dimensional space according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In a three-dimensional space, plural pages of the interactivedigital catalog 800 are arranged along the Z-axis (e.g., the orientationdirection). In the initial state, the plural pages are sequentially thecover page 810, the index page 820 and several content pages 831, 832,841 and 842. In addition, the fourth content page 842 is at the bottomof the z-axis, and the cover page 810 is at the top of the Z-axis. Theway of arranging plural pages along the Z-axis is well known to thoseskilled in the art, and is not redundantly described herein. In thiscontext, the arrangement of the plural pages along the Z-axis can beused to adjust the visual appearance of one page or plural pages.Preferably but not exclusively, the visual appearance to be adjustedincludes the page size, the page shape or the page border between atleast two pages or surrounding pages.

Moreover, in the interactive digital catalog 800 of FIG. 16, the indexpage 820 and the content pages 831, 832, 841 and 842 are not at the topof the Z-axis, but sequentially arranged long the Z-axis. Moreover,these pages are partially overlapped with each other, or the next pagealong the Z-axis is sheltered by the previous page. Moreover, since thecover page 810 is at the top of the Z axis, the cover page 810 is notsheltered by any other page. When the user browses the interactivedigital catalog 800, the cover page 810 is the concerned top page.

Moreover, the user can input a command to move any page of theinteractive digital catalog 800 to the top of the Z-axis. That is, eachpage of the interactive digital catalog is moved in response to thecommand. Consequently, the cover page 810 is moved from the top of theZ-axis to the last page of the interactive digital catalog or visuallydisappears. Other pages, e.g., the index page 820 and the content pages831, 832, 841 and 842, are moved forward to the front positions ofprevious pages. Meanwhile, the index page 820 is moved toward to the topof the Z-axis and became the concerned top page.

Visually, the movement of the pages of the interactive digital catalog800 (e.g., the cover page 810, the index page 820 and the content pages831, 832, 841 and 842) is similar to flow-in toward the user. The movingspeed of these pages can be controlled by the user. For example, themoving speed of these pages can be controlled with a mouse (not shown)or according to a setting provided by the interactive digital catalog800. In FIG. 17, the interactive digital catalog interactive digitalcatalog is presented in the three-dimensional space. In some otherembodiments, the interactive digital catalog interactive digital catalogis presented in a two-dimensional space or a four-dimensional space.Moreover, the user can directly open the designated page through thebookmarks of the index page 820 and the content pages 831, 832, 841 and842 (e.g., the first bookmark 851, the second bookmark 852 or the thirdbookmark 853). Consequently, the designated page is moved toward to thetop of the Z-axis and became the concerned top page.

Preferably but not limited, the operable unified matter is laid out onany page of the interactive digital catalog according to a predefinedrule. The predefined rule is used to scale the at least one operableunified matter, move the at least one operable unified matter, and/orapply a template to the at least one operable unified matter. In anembodiment, the predefined rule is implemented by an editing component.The editing component provides editing tools for editing the operableunified matters on the pages of the interactive digital catalog.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofediting and laying out the operable unified matters on the interactivedigital catalog in the step S820 of FIG. 14. As shown in FIG. 17, acontent page 1100 comprises a bookmark 1110 which is used to return tothe index page, a page-adding button 1120 and an editing-mode button1130. During operation, the user may send a request to the unifiedmatter source registry through the unified matter source tool (notshown) so as to acquire the required unified matters.

Moreover, by clicking the editing-mode button 1130 of the content page1100, a browsing mode is switched an editing mode, or the editing modeis switched to the browsing mode. In editing mode, the editing-modebutton 1130 is able to present a tool list 1140. The tool list 1140contains many tools, wherein each tool is a unified matter with aspecific function. For example, the tools in the tool list 1140 comprisea setting tool 1141, an image file tool 1142, a text file tool 1143, aPDF file publishing tool 1144 and a web linking tool 1145. For example,the image file tool 1142 is used to insert an image (e.g., a flowerimage) into the content page 1100, and the text file tool 1143 is usedto insert a text file into the content page 1100.

While the object (e.g., the flower image or the text file) is added tothe content page 1100, an editing interface 1150 for implementing thepredefined rule is also generated. In this embodiment, the editinginterface 1150 comprises a deleting tool 1151, a hashtagging tool 1152,a z-axis sequence adjusting tool 1153, an image adjusting tool 1154 anda text box 1155. The deleting tool 1151 is used for deleting the object.The hashtagging tool 1152 is used for tagging the object. The z-axissequence adjusting tool 1153 is used for adjusting the position of theobject along the z-axis. The image adjusting tool 1154 is for adjustingthe image of the object. The text box 1155 is used for inputting andadjusting the text content. After the editing operation on the contentpage 1100 is completed and the editing mode is switched to the browsingmode through the editing-mode button 1130, the tools provided in theediting mode will be hidden. That is, only the objects that are insertedduring the editing process are left to be browsed by the user.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation concept ofediting a shopping page on the interactive digital catalog by the methodof FIG. 14. In this embodiment, a content page 1290 also has anediting-mode button 1200. Through the editing-mode button 1200, thecontent page 1290 enters the editing mode. In the editing mode, theediting-mode button 1200 is able to present a tool list 1210. The toollist 1210 contains a car sale list tool 1220, a shopping-cart tool 1230and a payment tool 1240.

As mentioned above, the original tool corresponding to the car sale listtool 1220, the original tool corresponding to the shopping-cart tool1230 and the original tool corresponding to the payment tool 1240 can bedesigned and provided by an e-commerce website vendor (e.g., eBay).Moreover, these tools can be uploaded and registered to the unifiedmatter source registry by the e-commerce website vendor. After thesetools are authenticated and unified by the unified matter sourceregistry, these tools are connected to a unified matter source tool(i.e., the tool list 1210). Consequently, the car sale list tool 1220,the shopping-cart tool 1230 and the payment tool 1240 are presented inthe tool list 1210. Please refer to FIG. 18 again. When the car salelist tool 1220 is clicked, a pop-up selling window 1221 is presented.The pop-up selling window 1221 displays various cars and their presetselling conditions such as quantities and prices. The shopping-cart tool1230 is used for recording and displaying the purchased items and theprice to be paid. The payment tool 1240 is used for providing a paymentoption (e.g. cash or credit card).

While the user edits the interactive digital catalog, the car sale listtool 1220 presents the pop-up selling window 1221. The models,quantities and prices of plural objects are displayed in the pop-upselling window 1221. A user can directly drag an object 1222 of aparticular car model to the content page 1290, then drags a tool 1231having the function of a shopping cart from the shopping-cart tool 1230,and finally selects the credit card payment tool 1242 from a cash/creditcard payment tool window 1241 of the payment tool 1240 and places thecredit card payment tool 124 on the content page 1290. Consequently, ashopping page is constructed.

It is noted that the objects or the tools are all activated. That is,the content page 1290 has a built-in application program interface thatcan automatically search operable unified matters corresponding to anyoperable unified matter (e.g., any object or any tool) of the contentpage 1290 and establish the linking relationship between these matters.Consequently, the interaction between these matters is permitted. Whenany consumer wants to purchase a car through the above shopping page(i.e., the content page 1290), the consumer can firstly select theobject 1222 of the particular car model and input the quantity to bepurchased. Then, the consumer confirms the purchased items and the totalprice to be paid by using the tool 1231 having the function of ashopping cart. After the consumer inputs the password of the credit cardto complete the payment through the credit card payment tool 1242, theprocess of purchasing the car is completed.

Consequently, by providing various tools and editing pages, the user caneasily and conveniently design and construct an interactive digitalcatalog having the shopping function. Upon completion, the interactivedigital catalog can be uploaded to a web server or displayed on a windowor a browser so as to be browsed and operated by other users.

Please refer to FIGS. 19A and 19B. FIG. 19A is a schematic diagramillustrating an implementation concept of using the interactive digitalcatalog to publish news and collect opinion feedbacks according to anembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19B is a schematic diagramillustrating an implementation concept of presenting the interactivedigital catalog of FIG. 19A in a three-dimensional space. In thisembodiment, the purpose of the interactive digital catalog 1350 is topublish weekly news about the American president Barack Obama, tocollect feedbacks and to answer questionnaires. Please refer to FIG.19A. In the editing mode, the user can input the published date of thenews into a title region 1311 of a content page 1390, and insert thetext file of the news and an image of Obama by using the a tool list1310 under an editing-mode button 1300. Moreover, the editing-modebutton 1300 further provides a feedback tool 1320 and a questionnairetool 1330 to enable the user to add a feedback button 1321 and aquestionnaire button 1331 to the content page 1390. According to theabove procedures, the user can compile plural content pages easily andmanage and collect the weekly news about Obama.

After the content page 1390 is compiled by the user, a cover page and anindex page of the weekly news were can be further designed, andconnections between all pages are also established in order to switchpages between each other. Moreover, a bookmark is also included in thepage for opening the designated page. As shown in FIG. 19B, bookmarkswith publishing dates (e.g., “2014/08/28” and “2014/09/04”) are createdin the index page 1392. When one of the bookmarks is pressed or clicked,the content page containing the news published on the particular date isopened. In this context, the tem “opening the designated page” usedherein indicates that the designated page is moved to the top of theZ-axis and becomes the concerned top page. After shown in FIG. 19B, theinteractive digital catalog 1350 regarding Obama's weekly news comprisesthe cover page 1391, the index page 1392 and several content pages 1390.Moreover, the interactive digital catalog 1350 is placed in a workspace1340 and presented in the three-dimensional space. The pages of theinteractive digital catalog 1350 (e.g., the cover page 1391, the indexpage 1392 and the content pages 1390) are partially overlapped with eachother and sequentially arranged long the Z-axis. Consequently, the usercan browse the interactive digital catalog 1350 by moving the pages(e.g., the cover page 1391, the index page 1392 and the content pages1390) forwardly or backwardly along the Z-axis direction.

FIG. 19C is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation conceptof placing the interactive digital catalog of FIG. 19A in a workspace.As shown in FIG. 19C, the workspace 1340 for accommodating theinteractive digital catalog 1350 further comprises a contact list 1360and a social website link area 1370. Through the contact list 1360 orthe social websites of a social website link area 1370 (e.g., Facebook,Twitter or Line), the user can share or publish the interactive digitalcatalog 1350 to at least one contact person or at least one socialwebsite. Consequently, other users receiving the interactive digitalcatalog 1350 can browse the contents of the interactive digital catalog1350. Moreover, when the feedback button 1321 and/or the questionnairebutton 1331 in the interactive digital catalog 1350 are clicked by theuser, an opinion-filling window and/or a questionnaire window are poppedup. Through the opinion-filling window and/or a questionnaire window,the user can fill the feedback opinion and answer the questionnaire.Consequently, the user who originally publishes the interactive digitalcatalog 1350 can collect the feedback opinion and the questionnaire inorder for the subsequent analysis and assessment.

Moreover, the first user who originally shares or publishes theinteractive digital catalog can set the authorities of controlling theinteractive digital catalog (e.g., the authorities of editing, sharing,or uploading the content of the interactive digital catalog).Consequently, first user who originally shares or publishes theinteractive digital catalog can update the content of the interactivedigital catalog about Obama's weekly news. Alternatively, the first usercan set the editing authorities of allowing other users with theinteractive digital catalog 1350 to cooperatively work.

In this embodiment, the workspace 1340 further comprises a chatroom 1380for allowing users to communicate with each other through texts and/orvideo communication. Through the chatroom 1380, the users can discussthe content of the interactive digital catalog or directly capture ordrag the content of the interactive digital catalog to the chatroom1380.

FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a computer-readablestorage medium according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thecomputer-readable storage medium 200 is used for constructing aninteractive digital catalog to present and/or manage at least oneoperable unified matter. The computer-readable storage medium 200includes a computing program 210. While the computing program 210 isexecuted, the computing program 201 performs the following steps.Firstly, an interactive digital catalog including at least one page iscreated (Step S110). Then, the at least one operable unified matter ispresented and/or managed by laying out the at least one operable unifiedmatter on the at least one page according to a predefined rule (StepS120). The implementations of the steps S110 and S120 are similar tothose mentioned above, and the detailed descriptions thereof areomitted.

In particular, the computing program 210 store in the computer-readablestorage medium 200 can be implemented in a computing device, and theinteractive digital catalog is presented in a graphical user interface(GUI) of the computing device. An example of the computing deviceincludes but is not limited to a server, a computer (e.g., a desktopcomputer, a notebook computer or a tablet computer), a portableelectronic device (e.g., a smart phone or a personal digital assistant),a wearable electronic device (e.g., a smart watch, a smart wristband orsmart glasses) or any other internet accessible device. In anembodiment, the computing device and/or the computer-readable storagemedium 200 are owned by the internet service provider. Consequently, thecomputing device and/or the computer-readable storage medium 200 canprovide a network service of constructing the interactive digitalcatalog.

From the above descriptions, the present invention provides a method forconstructing an interactive digital catalog with operable unifiedmatters. When compared with the conventional technologies, the presentinvention has the following advantages.

Firstly, when various unified matters are developed by a growing numberof vendors or developers according to the standards or formats of theunified matters, the information sources of the operable unified mattersin the interactive digital catalog will be continuously expanded. Sincethe required unified matters can be acquired more easily andconveniently, the users can operate the interactive digital catalog toimplement tasks.

Secondly, the conventional digital catalogs or their programs arecreated or developed by vendors or developers, and the contents of theconventional digital catalogs are passively accepted by people or usersand barely allowed to be adjusted under some particular limitations andrestrictions. However, the users of the interactive digital catalog ofthe present invention can edit, lay out, use and combine any unifiedmatters on each page of the interactive digital catalog according to thepersonal needs. In other words, the interactive digital catalog provideshigh flexibility of allowing the users to acquire and lay out therequired unified matter on the interactive digital catalog withoutlimitations or restrictions. Consequently, users can design personalizedor customized interactive digital catalogs. For example, according tothe concepts of the present invention, users can design interactivedigital catalogs about personal websites, commercial websites,biographies, educations or introductions.

Thirdly, plural unified matters that are laid out and combined togetheron the interactive digital catalog can interact with each other throughan application programming interface (API) launched by an analoglauncher. That is, when one unified mattered is executed or operated,the API searches and opens another corresponding unified matter, so thatboth unified matters cooperatively implement a task.

Fourthly, the interactive digital catalog is a coordinating platform. Incase that many users are authorized to edit the interactive digitalcatalog, these users can edit a unified matter or coordinate with eachother to complete the interactive digital catalog concurrently or at anytime. For example, for compiling a catalog about Obama's life, users canfirstly collect data about Obama's life at different stages. Afterplural content pages are edited and managed according to the datacollected by the users, the plural content pages are integrated into acomplete interactive digital catalog. In addition, the interactivedigital catalog can be shared with or transmitted to other people orsocial websites in a wired or wireless transmission manner.

While the invention has been described in terms of what is presentlyconsidered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is tobe understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosedembodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadestinterpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similarstructures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for constructing an interactive digitalcatalog to present and manage at least one operable unified matter, themethod comprising: creating the interactive digital catalog, wherein theinteractive digital catalog includes at least one page, and wherein theat least one page of the interactive digital catalog contains at leastone operable unified matter; laying out the at least one operableunified matter on the at least one page of the interactive digitalcatalog via a unified script according to a predefined rule to presentand manage the at least one operable unified matter, wherein the atleast one operable unified matter includes at least one unifiedinformation unit and/or at least one unified tool, and wherein aninformation importer imports the at least one unified information unitand/or the at least one unified tool into the interactive digitalcatalog, the at least one unified information unit is produced byunifying at least one original information obtained from at least oneinformation source, and the at least one unified tool is produced byunifying at least one original tool obtained from at least oneinformation source; providing a catalog launcher to launch theinteractive digital catalog; and providing an application programminginterface to the interactive digital catalog to interact with the atleast one operable unified matter.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein the at least one unified tool is used to present dynamicinformation, collecting information, manipulating the at least oneunified information unit, and/or proceeding transactions.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein a unified matter source of the at leastone operable unified matter is expandable.
 4. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one operable unified matter is presentedwith an icon, a text, an input term, or any combination thereof.
 5. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the interactive digital catalog ispresented with the appearance of a book, and the at least one page ofthe interactive digital catalog includes at least one cover page, atleast one index page, and/or at least one content page.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 5, wherein the at least one index page has at leastone bookmark, and wherein the at least one content page is openedthrough the at least one bookmark; or the at least one content page isgrouped into at least one section; or the at least one cover page, theat least one index page, and the at least one content page of theinteractive digital catalog are sequentially arranged in order; or theat least one index page contains the at least one cover page.
 7. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the interactive digital catalog ispresented in a three-dimensional space so as to be browsed.
 8. Themethod according to claim 7, wherein the at least one page of theinteractive digital catalog comprises a plurality of pages, and whereinthe plurality of pages are arranged along a Z-axis direction andpartially overlapped with each other.
 9. The method according to claim1, wherein the predefined rule is used to scale the at least oneoperable unified matter, move the at least one operable unified matter,and/or apply a template to the at least one operable unified matter soas to change the layout the at least one operable unified matter on theat least one page of the interactive digital catalog.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the application programming interfaceallows a first one of the at least one operable unified matter to manageand/or operate a second one of the at least one operable unified matter,or allows the first one of the at least one operable unified matter andthe second one of the at least one operable unified matter to cooperatewith each other.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein when theat least one operable unified matter is operated, at least oneexecutable component connected with the at least one operable unifiedmatter is inserted into the interactive digital catalog through thecatalog launcher, so that a specified task is performed.
 12. The methodaccording to claim 11, wherein the at least one executable component isbuilt in or plugged in the interactive digital catalog.
 13. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium for constructing aninteractive digital catalog to present and manage at least one operableunified matter, the non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumstoring a computing program, wherein while the computing program isexecuted, the computing program performing: creating the interactivedigital catalog, wherein the interactive digital catalog includes atleast one page, and wherein the at least one page of the interactivedigital catalog contains at least one operable unified matter; layingout the at least one operable unified matter on the at least one page ofthe interactive digital catalog via a unified script according to apredefined rule to present and manage the at least one operable unifiedmatter, wherein the at least one operable unified matter includes atleast one unified information unit and/or at least one unified tool, andwherein an information importer imports the at least one unifiedinformation unit and/or the at least one unified tool into theinteractive digital catalog, the at least one unified information unitis produced by unifying at least one original information obtained fromat least one information source, and the at least one unified tool isproduced by unifying at least one original tool obtained from at leastone information source; providing a catalog launcher to launch theinteractive digital catalog; and providing an application programminginterface to the interactive digital catalog to interact with the atleast one operable unified matter.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein theapplication programming interface allows a first one of the at least oneoperable unified matter to manage and/or operate a second one of the atleast one operable unified matter, or allows the first one of the atleast one operable unified matter and the second one of the at least oneoperable unified matter to cooperate with each other.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 14,wherein when the at least one operable unified matter is operated, atleast one executable component connected with the at least one operableunified matter is inserted into the interactive digital catalog throughthe catalog launcher, so that a specified task is performed.
 16. Aninteractive digital catalog stored on a non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium to present and manage at least one operable unifiedmatter, wherein the interactive digital catalog includes at least onepage, wherein the at least one page of the interactive digital catalogcontains at least one operable unified matter, wherein the at least oneoperable unified matter is laid out on the at least one page of theinteractive digital catalog via a unified script according to apredefined rule to present and manage the at least one operable unifiedmatter, wherein the at least one operable unified matter includes atleast one unified information unit and/or at least one unified tool,wherein an information importer imports the at least one unifiedinformation unit and/or the at least one unified tool into theinteractive digital catalog, the at least one unified information unitis produced by unifying at least one original information obtained fromat least one information source, and the at least one unified tool isproduced by unifying at least one original tool obtained from at leastone information source, wherein a catalog launcher is provided to launchthe interactive digital catalog; and wherein an application programminginterface is provided to the interactive digital catalog to interactwith the at least one operable unified matter.
 17. The interactivedigital catalog according to claim 16, wherein the interactive digitalcatalog is presented with the appearance of a book, and the at least onepage of the interactive digital catalog includes at least one coverpage, at least one index page, and/or at least one content page; or thepredefined rule is used to scale the at least one operable unifiedmatter, move the at least one operable unified matter, and/or apply atemplate to the at least one operable unified matter so as to change thelayout the at least one operable unified matter on the at least one pageof the interactive digital catalog.